According to foreign media reports, in early March this year, 27-year-old California resident Isabelle Rosa (Isabelle Rosa) began to experience some specific symptoms, until then she had thought it was just a common flu, but with her persistent fever and dry cough, as well as the growing severity of the New Coronavirus epidemic within the United States, made her begin to suspect that she might have New Coronavirus, unfortunately, as many U.S. residents have experienced, she was told by her doctor via telecommunication that as long as her symptoms were not obvious, it was best to stay home and no tests were needed.
Although Rosa's symptoms were not life-threatening, they did become stranger. After 3 days of persistent fever and dry cough, she suddenly realized she could not smell or taste any food, "I suddenly realized that when I drank spoiled milk, I could not taste it, in addition to my sense of smell, I could not smell substances such as perfume, I ate a lemon and surprisingly No reaction, then I smelled about 50 different substances, tasted more than 30 kinds of food, a week passed and still could not recover their sense of smell and taste."
Rosa is not the only person suspected or confirmed to have the new coronavirus in recent weeks, with many patients exhibiting loss of smell or taste, and news reports of people experiencing such conditions are increasing as the outbreak sweeps the world. But how exactly are these strange symptoms caused? Could these unique symptoms have a greater impact on the way we track disease?
There are many reasons why humans experience loss of smell or taste, two conditions known as olfactory loss and gustatory loss, respectively (both conditions often occur together as the human sense of smell severely affects the sense of taste). People may be born with a congenital condition; they may have a neurological condition or a traumatic injury that causes the brain to lose the ability to process cranial nerve information in the olfactory bulb (between the nose and the brain); or they may have a virus that causes these conditions. When people are infected with a virus, it is usually documented as a respiratory illness, e.g., a novel coronavirus.
Olfactory loss is unlikely to be caused by nasal blockage and is not a sign of severe brain damage. Respiratory viruses can cause damage to the olfactory receptors, which are necessary for normal smell, and olfactory loss is not usually painful
Although there have been few cases in Germany, Iran and the United States regarding the loss of smell in patients with new crowns, public health experts have recently become concerned about this phenomenon. World Health Organization (WHO) officials say they are beginning to study the association, but warn that any current evidence of such an association is in its early stages and needs to be analyzed in depth.
The first key question is whether patients with neocoronavirus infection are more likely to suffer from olfactory loss than those infected with typical influenza or cold viruses; the second key question is whether the complications of olfactory loss are more severe or more persistent in patients with neocoronavirus infection than in those with other viruses.
It has been shown that once this olfactory loss occurs, people experience a significant decrease in the sense of smell, or even complete loss, and the condition persists long after the nasal congestion has disappeared.
Experts are not sure at this point whether the new coronavirus causes more olfactory loss than the cold virus; rather, it is possible that the surge in cases and worldwide concern about the new coronavirus prompted them to name their symptoms. However, it is likely that loss of smell is a basic sign of neocoronavirus infection.
While the best way to track and analyze neo-coronavirus is to conduct extensive testing and genetic analysis of the evolutionary history of the virus, finding people with loss of smell is a weathervane to roughly track when people in a particular area become infected with neo-coronavirus. Although he is not currently studying the program in detail, researchers have used social media to probe and predict trends in the flu season. Otolaryngologists have suggested that olfactory loss syndrome may be a warning sign for aggressive screening by physicians.
The lack of early attention by public health professionals to the symptoms of olfactory loss in patients with neo-coronavirus reflects the general neglect of the olfactory loss patient population, and although neo-coronavirus is not highly lethal, the infection is terrifying and can be completely life-changing.
Although people with olfactory loss may regain some or all of their ability to smell, the treatment process may take several years. If a young person in their 20's loses their ability to smell due to neo-coronavirus infection, they are likely to have no sense of smell restored for the next 50-60 years of their life, and their life will become very bad, seriously affecting their quality of life. Therefore, we hope that people will learn more about this potential risk and avoid contracting the new coronavirus as much as possible.
